ˈkɑː.də ˈkɑ.dɹeɪ ˈsɛlfəʊn ˈsɛlfoʊn ˈkjubɪkəl (biology) the basic structural and functional unit of all organisms; they may exist as independent units of life (as in monads) or may form colonies or tissues as in higher plants and animals a device that delivers an electric current as the result of a chemical reaction a room where a prisoner is kept small room in which a monk or nun lives any small compartment the cells of a honeycomb a hand-held mobile radiotelephone for use in an area divided into small sections, each with its own short-range transmitter/receiver a small unit serving as part of or as the nucleus of a larger political movement